Digital Graphic Narrative Planning

Use this booklet to help structure your planning and collate your planning documents.

Considerations:
There are lots of things to consider in this project. Fill out each section in detail to show you have thought about each one. You
should imagine that this is a live project, so considerations like cost, quantity and codes of practice must be thought about in that
context rather than just as a college project.
Costs:
For my childrens book I will be working mostly on the computers, which will not cost any money. However, I
will be doing a few illustrations that will then be recreated digitally, this will cost money. For paper it will only
cost a few pence, but the pencils will cost around 5, possibly more for some high quality pencils. If I were to
print 200 books, it would cost around 2.02 however if I were to print 1,000-1,500 books, it would cost 1.57.
Available resources:
To create backgrounds and characters I will need source images to rotoscope over, I have access to the
internet and a computer to acquire these images. Some of my backgrounds will be drawn and then digitally
recreated, for this I will need access to a scanner, drawing equipment (pens, pencil, ruler, rubber). To fully
produce the book I will need access to Photoshop to digitally create all the illustrations and piece together the
book.

Quantity:
My book will be a traditional paperback to be sold in bookshops, so around 2,000 copies will need to be
printed and sent to bookstores. I will be producing a limited print run of special edition books that will be in
hardback and these will be sent to libraries and schools, I will print around 200 of these.

Audience and Target Market:

My product is for children aged 3 to 7/8; I feel this is appropriate for this age group because of the language
and the presence of colourful, bright images. Also the book will appeal to parents because the book is child
friendly and enjoyable for their child. Also I dont have a target gender because I feel my book will appeal to
both male and female audiences. My target class will be working class because the book wont be expensive
and will appeal to parents because its inexpensive. It will be sold to English speaking countries but will also
be translated into African languages and sold there because the book is based on an African folk tale.
Quality Factors:
To make sure my work is as high quality as possible I will need to consider certain factors to ensure this. One
factor is to consider file management, make sure I make back-ups of my work and save regularly so no data is
lost. Try and keep motivated and concentrated at all times to ensure my work is not lacking in quality.
Feedback from peers could help improve quality of my work and allow me to make improvements. Also I will
need to manage my time correctly by making a plan and sticking to my product plan.
Codes of Practice:
The publisher must give the author a period of time, which is in the contract, and if the author fails to produce
a completed manuscript the publisher may be entitled to a refund. The publisher should be, at any point,
willing to explain the terms of the contract and make them clear to the author if misunderstood. The work
produced by the author must be produced in high quality and good faith. If the work is not to its highest quality
and produced with good care, the publisher has the rights to reclaim the advance.

Regulation:
My book does not fall under the definition of a toy so the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC does not apply to
my work. However I will need to ensure that my book abides by The Obscene Publications Act and Equality
Act 2010 to ensure that none of my content could be deemed offensive to a certain group of people.

Copyright:
My story is an old African folk tale, which may be copyrighted by the publishers so I will need to get
permission to use their story and share profits I make with them. I have used some source images as the
basis for my backgrounds and characters (although I have drawn some) but they are not very similar to the
source image. However if one of my rotoscoped images is very similar to the source image I will need to get
permission from the creator to use it.

Ethical Issues:
My story includes a lot of African culture because it is an old Nigerian folk tale. This means I will have to
ensure my work is not offensive to the Nigerian culture and not incorrect either. Also my book is being sold in
parts of Africa so it will mean that my content will need to be relatable for them and include African culture
heavily. It will have to be highly respectable and not include any common stereotypes that could be insulting
towards Nigerians or anyone.

Resources:
A successful project relies on good planning. Considering all the resources you will need for a project and then assessing which
you already have and which you need will help ensure you are ready to start your project.
If there is a resource you dont currently have, then consider how you are going to get it before you go in to production.
Resource:

Do you have
it?

What do you need to do to get it?

Photoshop

Yes

The college computers have Photoshop installed onto them, I

also have Photoshop on my computer at home.

Paper/Sketchbook

Yes

I own paper and sketchbook. College can also supply me with

these items.

Pencils/Colouring pencils

Yes

I own colouring pencils.

Scanner

Yes

The college have a scanner down the corridor.

N/A
N/A
N/A

Production Schedule:
Delivering your project on time is vital. In order to do this, you need a solid plan of action. This will help you divide up your work in
to manageable chunks to be tackled one at a time. It will also allow you to plan, which tasks need to be done in which order. It will
also allow you to track your progress each day. If you are falling behind, you will need to modify the way you work. If you work
faster than expected, you can clearly see what the next steps you need to take are.
Each session is a half day of college.
Session 1:

Begin creating page one. Gather source images of a rustic castle and drum and rotoscope over the
existing images to create a background for page one. Use gradients, patterns and clipping masks.
Create the lion King by making a lion out of shapes using a source image and add the lion in, in his robe
with the drum placed in front of him. Add in the glow around the drum by going into the layer settings and
using a paintbrush.
Create the template page for every single page. Make boarders using lines and use shapes to create
some patterns for the edges. Add the text to the page, chose the font and then put the image in.
Session 2:
If not finished page one, complete any existing parts of the page, possibly text or finishing touches.
Begin creating page 3. Find two source images of the interior of a castle and throne to begin creating the
background for the page using a mixture of rotoscoping and shapes. Find an African print and use
threshold to remove the background, and then add a colour overlay and create the floor repeating this
technique.

Add textures/patterns to the wall or floor, use a clipping mask, threshold or colour overlay. Possibly
African prints or aboriginal prints. Rotoscope the stairs and use the wall from page 1.
Session 3:

Add in the king at the top of the stairs and the tortoise, from page 2, pointing towards the drum, may
have to recreate arm. Use the drum from page one, including the glow, and put on the left hand side.
Finish up final details for the page by adding shadows and shading/lighting, using a low opacity
paintbrush in black. Follow the shape of the object you are creating a shadow for. Set hardness to 0%.
Put text and image into the template.
Begin creating page 4 by finding source images of a cheetah and some food. Begin using shapes to
create a cheetah from a source image, try giving an angry expression.
Session 4:
Rotoscope the backgrounds that will be African patterns relating to the emotion of the character. So red
symbolises anger, green or blue for the greed of the Tortoise.
Add in the cheetah, tortoise and food which will be created using shapes. Half the page will have the
angry animals and the other half will have the tortoise and all the food.
Finish up page 4, adding in shading using paintbrush in black with low opacity, and add in text/patterns.

Session 5:

Begin finding images of a twig and forest for page 5 and positioning them in the correct positions. Then
begin using a mixture of shapes and rotoscoping. This will be a small circle in the right hand corner.
Create the background of African patterns by rotoscoping or using threshold and add in the drum with a
red glow around it, using again a low opacity paintbrush set to red. Add in golden sparkles using a small
paintbrush around the drum.
Session 6:
Finish up page 5 by adding in any shading, additional features or effects (gradients). Put the text and
image into the template created previously.
Begin creating page 6. Use the tree from page 2 and put it into the document. Create the other half of
the tree using existing leaves and change the tree leaves to different shades of purple and pink.
Session 7:

Add a pattern to the bark, using threshold and clipping masks. Keep the opacity at 100% for a better effect. Add fruit to
the floor, rom page one, and add shade from the fruit and tree.
Add some leaves in the same pink colours; they are supposed to be imitating blowing in the wind. Add in the tortoises
collecting food; use the same fruit basket from page 2. Create the female tortoise by making her more feminine. Add
some lips, eyelashes or eyeliner.
Session 8:
Begin creating page 7 by finding source images of a house and rotoscope over this for the background. Use different
source images for different parts so youre not just copying the original source image.

Add in the tortoise family, they will be eating dinner whilst discussing the rules of the tree. Possibly add in speech
bubbles or some comical thought processes. The father tortoise should appear stern. Make the young tortoises look
infantile by making their eyes bigger, rounder and make the cheeks rounder.
Session 9:
Begin creating page 8. Find a source image a watering hole, animals and begin creating the background. Once finished
the basic image, find a water texture and use threshold, add a colours overlay and lower the opacity. Create a clipping
mask to make the water look more realistic.
Add in the tree from page 6, but only half. This will be next the waterhole and should look prickly and sour, not lush.
Make sure to include the path from page 6. Use shapes to create some animal silhouettes to go around the watering
hole.
Add in the tortoise, he should look sad and sorrowful, he will be looking down. Manipulate his head to achieve this. His
young son will be stood beside him looking up towards the tree. Add some tears to the adult male tortoise; create a
glimmer on the tears using a white paintbrush. Add a broken heart above his head to really imply his broken heart.
Session 10:
Add shading using a low opacity black paintbrush and then create the sky using a radial gradient, make the sky blue
and the sun yellow slowly fading into blue. Finish up any remaining details.
Go back and review all pages and check to see if they are of good quality. If not, add in silhouettes in red and add in
gradients. Shading could also be missing, so add this in where necessary. Make sure the image matches what the text
says and make sure that all text and images are in the template and saved as a PSD.

Health and safety:

Your health and safety and that of those around you is very important. Just like in industry, an accident could prevent you from
working. Whilst we dont work in a highly dangerous environment, there are still risks. Some are short term, such as trips and
spillages whilst others, such as long term damage to eyesight or back problems, may affect you much later in life.
Consider the risks based on the activities you will be undertaking during the project. Explain how you could prevent them from
happening.
Ensure you reference appropriate pieces of legislation, design to protect people at work.
Health and Safety Issue

How can you prevent it?

Eyesight.

Make sure you are sitting with correct posture in your

chair and make sure you are not hunching at all.
Take regular breaks if sitting at the computer for long
periods of time. Dont sit too close to the screen. Make
sure the chair is the correct high and the screen
brightness is suited to you. Adjust your focus point every
so often. This is according to the Digital Display Screen
Act.

Trip hazards.

Make sure bags and cables are tucked away and not in a
place where people can trip over and injure themselves.
This is according to the Health And Safety at Work Act.

Back pain.